WO2024080927A1 - Système et procédé pour distribution d'eau douce - Google Patents

Système et procédé pour distribution d'eau douce Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024080927A1
WO2024080927A1 PCT/SG2023/050683 SG2023050683W WO2024080927A1 WO 2024080927 A1 WO2024080927 A1 WO 2024080927A1 SG 2023050683 W SG2023050683 W SG 2023050683W WO 2024080927 A1 WO2024080927 A1 WO 2024080927A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
mist
gaseous state
evaporator
water
water droplets
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/SG2023/050683
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
George WUU
Original Assignee
Advanced Capital Pte Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Advanced Capital Pte Ltd filed Critical Advanced Capital Pte Ltd
Publication of WO2024080927A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024080927A1/fr

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Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F1/00—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
    • C02F1/02—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating
    • C02F1/04—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating by distillation or evaporation
    • C02F1/048—Purification of waste water by evaporation
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F1/00—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
    • C02F1/02—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating
    • C02F1/04—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating by distillation or evaporation
    • C02F1/10—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating by distillation or evaporation by direct contact with a particulate solid or with a fluid, as a heat transfer medium
    • C02F1/12—Spray evaporation
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F1/00—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
    • C02F1/34—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage with mechanical oscillations
    • C02F1/36—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage with mechanical oscillations ultrasonic vibrations
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F2103/00—Nature of the water, waste water, sewage or sludge to be treated
    • C02F2103/08—Seawater, e.g. for desalination
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
    • C02F2303/00—Specific treatment goals
    • C02F2303/26—Reducing the size of particles, liquid droplets or bubbles, e.g. by crushing, grinding, spraying, creation of microbubbles or nanobubbles

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of water production.
  • Water covers about 70% of the Earth. However, only a low percentage of the water on the Earth is able to sustain human life without further processing of the water.
  • Thermal desalination process uses heat to distil seawater to provide fresh water. It is a slow process with limited output quantity.
  • Membrane desalination is more commonly deployed compared to thermal distillation.
  • membrane desalination requires high pressure to feed seawater through a membrane to separate salt from seawater, and this process incurs a substantial energy load.
  • the membrane which is used has a low usage life span and is costly to replace, and the membrane is highly susceptible to damage from dirt and seaborne debris.
  • a method for providing fresh water comprising: generating at least one sound wave at a predetermined frequency; introducing the at least one sound wave to a saltwater body; creating a change of state of the saltwater body; collecting a gaseous state of the saltwater body; and humidifying the gaseous state of the saltwater body.
  • a system for providing fresh water the system being configured to carry out the steps comprising: generating, with a sound generator, at least one sound wave at a predetermined frequency; introducing, from the sound generator, the at least one sound wave to a saltwater body; creating a change of state of the saltwater body; collecting, with an enclosure, a gaseous state of the saltwater body; and humidifying, in the enclosure, the gaseous state of the saltwater body.
  • a system for providing fresh water comprising: a mist generator for generating mist, the mist generator including an ultrasonic vibrator; an evaporator coupled with the mist generator, the evaporator being configured to vaporize the mist from the mist generator; and a condenser coupled to the evaporator, the condenser being configured to condense humid air from the evaporator.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a process flow of a method the present invention
  • FIG 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example system of the present invention
  • FIG 3 illustrates an example of the system of FIG 2
  • FIG 4 illustrates an example system of the present invention as deployed.
  • the present invention provides a system and method to provide fresh water, which can be carried out in a low cost, low maintenance manner using a sustainable energy source.
  • the system and method can be used at coastal areas or at open seas.
  • a method 100 for providing fresh water carries out a process of breaking surface tension of seawater for the harvesting of fresh water without a water pump and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane like a desalination plant.
  • the method 100 can be deployed at coastal areas or at open seas, and the respective steps of the method 100 can be powered by solar cells. This means that a power supply need not be provided for the carrying out of the method 100.
  • at least one sound wave is generated by a sound generating device like an ultrasonic vibrator at a predetermined frequency.
  • the predetermined frequency can be between 2MHz to 4MHz.
  • the at least one sound wave is introduced to a water body, typically a saltwater body.
  • a water body typically a saltwater body.
  • this can mean that the sound generating device is positioned in the water body through a calibrated neutral buoyancy against the dynamic wave movements and tidal fluctuations to achieve meaningful mist quantities from a system of harvesting fresh water from seawater.
  • the at least one sound wave passing through the water body causes a change of state of the water body, from a liquid state to a gaseous state (for example, micronic mist).
  • Water in liquid state has a surface tension that can be as hard as a concrete slab. This is because water molecules are bound together by the tension of its surface boundary layer. This surface boundary layer restricts water molecules from escaping into the atmosphere through evaporation.
  • the at least one sound wave is able to break the surface tension of liquid water and to agitate the surface tension of seawater to cause mist (gaseous state) to rise.
  • the gaseous state of the water body is then collected in an enclosure.
  • the collected gaseous water (mist) undergoes humidification at the enclosure at more than 80% relative humidity and consequently, this produces fresh water by condensation.
  • the evaporation humidification process disintegrates salt from mist droplets during the transition to gaseous water.
  • Seawater in liquid state has less than 4% of salt content.
  • a micron size mist with 4% of salt content is virtually zero.
  • This vaporization process can be expedited through a low thermodynamic process.
  • the brine disintegrated from the mist can be left at sea or harvested as table salt.
  • the vaporized mist from the thermodynamic process is condensed back into its liquid water without any salt content.
  • the method 100 is easily replicable and is a self sustaining solution for producing fresh water.
  • the method 100 can also be employed in a system for producing fresh water, the system being configured to carry out the various steps of the method 100.
  • the benefits of the method 100 will also be replicated with the deployment of the system.
  • the system employing the method 100 with a surface area of 1 sq/ft at sea requires no more than 100W of electrical power.
  • 1 sq/ft of surface area at sea can produce more than one cubic meter of mist in an hour.
  • Separating the brine from the mist through a low thermodynamic process to condense the vaporized mist back into potable liquid water requires less than 2 KW electrical power to produce more than 50 liters of fresh water per day.
  • a domestic 110VAC/220VAC power supply can also keep the system running all year round.
  • FIG 2 there is shown a schematic diagram for a system 200 for providing fresh water.
  • the system 200 comprises three stages that operate in a sequential manner in order to provide a desired output of fresh water.
  • the first stage is a mist generator 210.
  • the mist generator 210 includes an ultrasonic vibrator that is configured to be partially submerged in seawater.
  • the ultrasonic vibrator is configured to agitate a seawater surface to produce mist at a lower energy cost compared to a pump to delivering seawater in its liquid state for typical desalination processes.
  • the ultrasonic vibrator is a bespoke device configured for submersion in seawater.
  • the mist generator 210 also includes an internal structure to enable the ultrasonic vibrator to remain under neutral buoyancy below seawater level to agitate the water surface molecule to break down its surface tension into mist. Subsequently, fog will form above the seawater surface.
  • a delivery channel will be configured to cause egress of the fog from the mist generator 210 to a second stage.
  • the ultrasonic vibrator is configured to operate at a specifically calibrated ultrasonic frequency range between 2MHz to 4MHz to generate appropriate droplets in the mist in order to separate salt from the mist. If the ultrasonic vibrator is not calibrated in a desired frequency range, droplets in the mist can quickly bind together back into a saturated liquid state due to an inherent constant dielectric polarity of the water molecule.
  • the ultrasonic vibrator generates a specific frequency range to disintegrate 4% salt content in the mist to prevent saturation in the second stage. Typically, the higher the ultrasonic frequency range, the greater a yield of freshwater obtainable from the seawater.
  • the second stage is an evaporator 220.
  • the evaporator 220 includes a fan at one end of an evaporation chamber, the fan being configured to blow the mist from the mist generator 210 to flow through the evaporating chamber.
  • the evaporator 220 can be a heating chamber which includes at least one heating element that can be powered by solar energy or mains power.
  • the evaporator 220 is configured to disintegrate salt by vaporizing the fog.
  • an algorithmic process is applied in the evaporator 220 that is based on dynamic fluctuations of mist volume, temperature and pressure in the evaporating chamber. An airflow generated by the fan would channel humid air from the evaporator 220 to a third stage in a low-pressure pipe.
  • the evaporator 220 is configured for self-regulating air humidity relative to the temperature and pressure- controlled environment in the evaporation chamber using solar energy to disintegrate the salt from its mist state to prevent saturation.
  • the third stage is a condenser 230.
  • the humid air from the evaporator 220 is channelled into the condenser 230.
  • the condenser 230 is configured to condense the humid air into droplets on at least one cooling surface in the condenser 230.
  • the at least one cooling surface can be fins attached to a series of pipes containing an appropriate refrigerant/coolant. Water condensate which forms on the at least one cooling surface then drops onto at least one collection plate in the condenser 230 for consolidation and subsequent distribution to any intended use.
  • the evaporator 220 and the condenser 230 can be located either at sea or on land.
  • the system 200 can be powered by solar energy, whereby the solar panels can be located either at sea or onshore. Referring to FIG 3, there is shown a perspective view of an experimental apparatus 300 that was conceived to test the system 200.
  • the apparatus 300 is designed to operate like the system 200.
  • the apparatus 300 includes a mist generator 310, an evaporator 320 and a condenser 330.
  • the mist generator 310, the evaporator 320 and the condenser 330 are connected to one another with pipes 340 that allow passage of air.
  • the apparatus 300 was conceived to test various aspects of the system 200 in a lab.
  • FIG 4 shows an example embodiment of the system 200 during an actual deployment.
  • FIG 4 shows a 2m x 2m sized example of the system 200. It should be noted that the system 200 generates the mist while floating at sea. Solar panels are also shown in FIG 4. As illustrated, the larger the surface area, the larger would be the production capability of the system 200 as power capacity for the system 200 increases with the use of more solar panels.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Heat Treatment Of Water, Waste Water Or Sewage (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un système et un procédé de distribution d'eau douce qui peuvent être mis en œuvre à faible coût et qui nécessitent peu d'entretien. Le système et le procédé peuvent être utilisés dans les zones côtières ou en haute mer.
PCT/SG2023/050683 2022-10-10 2023-10-10 Système et procédé pour distribution d'eau douce WO2024080927A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SG10202251328N 2022-10-10
SG10202251328N 2022-10-10

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2024080927A1 true WO2024080927A1 (fr) 2024-04-18

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Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN101838079A (zh) * 2010-04-21 2010-09-22 王剑波 超声波雾化汽化海水淡化脱盐装置及方法
US20110174605A1 (en) * 2008-08-20 2011-07-21 Nicolas Ugolin Method for the desalination or purification of water by distillation of a spray (spray pump)
CN103964539A (zh) * 2013-01-30 2014-08-06 北京朗新明环保科技有限公司 浓盐水微波淡化装置
CN105836948A (zh) * 2016-03-31 2016-08-10 红门智能科技股份有限公司 利用海水与淡水结露温差制备淡水的方法及系统
CN213085509U (zh) * 2020-06-18 2021-04-30 山东科技大学 一种新型超声雾化多级海水淡化系统

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20110174605A1 (en) * 2008-08-20 2011-07-21 Nicolas Ugolin Method for the desalination or purification of water by distillation of a spray (spray pump)
CN101838079A (zh) * 2010-04-21 2010-09-22 王剑波 超声波雾化汽化海水淡化脱盐装置及方法
CN103964539A (zh) * 2013-01-30 2014-08-06 北京朗新明环保科技有限公司 浓盐水微波淡化装置
CN105836948A (zh) * 2016-03-31 2016-08-10 红门智能科技股份有限公司 利用海水与淡水结露温差制备淡水的方法及系统
CN213085509U (zh) * 2020-06-18 2021-04-30 山东科技大学 一种新型超声雾化多级海水淡化系统

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